What Remains
by dreamerinfic
Summary: Martha is back in her old flat and examining all that she's lost when a friend appears to offer her hope for the future. Really just a small bit of angst fluff for MarthaJack.


**What Remains…**

Martha looked around the remains of her smoldering flat, no chance she was going to be staying here tonight. The Master had made quick work of turning everything she owned into ash and cinders. She hadn't really had time to ponder the loss till now with the fight for the earth and her family consuming so much time and energy. But now that the Master had been dealt with and the Doctor had left it seemed there was too much time to count the losses.

The Doctor and Jack had been here with her when it happened, when the bomb went off. And she knew that if it had not been for the Doctor she most certainly would've been killed. Of course, if she'd never met the Doctor the Master wouldn't have taken the time to blow up her flat in the first place. But then, so much in her life had changed this seemed like a small thing in comparison.

She bent to pick a picture of her family out of the rubble. She'd tried to stay with them, had sent the Doctor away so she could be with them, but it was too much. She couldn't live with her parents anymore. Amidst all the talk of the year that never was her mother had nagged her about needing a boyfriend, finishing medical school and staying away from aliens.

Though she agreed with her mum about most of those points, she'd felt the need to get out as soon as possible. And so she was here, sorting through the ashes of her old life. She went into the bedroom and began picking remnants of her clothes up off the floor. They were burned and scorched and most were unrecognizable. It looked like a whole new wardrobe would be in order. Funny how she'd never worried about things like that in her time with the Doctor, the TARDIS had always provided whatever she needed in exactly the right size.

A noise from the front room disturbed her thoughts. She wondered who it could be, she'd never really known any of the neighbors and her family wouldn't have followed her here.

Martha looked out through the remains of the doorway and saw him there, long blue coat trailing in the ash and rubble. Jack…it was Jack; in her flat…she'd thought he was in Cardiff.

"Hi there, mister," she greeted him lightly.

Jack smiled back at her, "Hey beautiful."

She hugged him briefly and when she pulled away he didn't completely let her go. He looked around at the bleak remains and rested his hands on her waist, "Pretty much destroyed, isn't it?" he observed.

"Yeah, pretty much," she agreed. "I thought you were in Cardiff."

"I was. But…well, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Martha looked down at the blackened floor, "Fine, I'm fine."

"Martha," Jack began.

"No, Jack. Really, I'm fine. I just need to find someplace to stay."

Jack looked around again, "Not here," he stated obviously.

Martha laughed and shook her head, "No, not here."

She looked up into his eyes and raised her hand to his cheek, "You could've just called."

"I wanted to see you," Jack said while turning his head into her hand and softly kissing the palm.

She looked at Jack with a bit of disbelief on her face, "You just wanted to see me?"

His eyes widened as he looked down at her, "Yeah, I did. You don't believe me?" he questioned.

Martha shrugged, "I don't know."

"Martha, I've been thinking," Jack hesitated a bit before going on taking the time to carefully consider his words, "You and I, we have a lot in common. We both know about the world out there beyond earth and we both have a desire to change things here on this planet. I think that you would be a real asset to Torchwood."

Torchwood…Martha blinked up at him, "Is this a job offer?"

Reluctantly Jack removed his hands from her waist and stepped back, "Yes."

"But…Torchwood's in Cardiff."

Jack nodded.

"I can't just move to Cardiff, Jack," Martha shook her head at him sadly.

He gestured around the room at the burnt and blackened walls, the rubble and ash that were her possessions. "What's left here for you, Martha?"

She looked around the room, her eyes tearing a bit. It wasn't just the possessions, but her dreams, goals and ambitions. Since she had seen all that awaited humans, all that was out there past the boundaries of science she wanted to do so much more with her life than just become a doctor…she wanted to change the world…save it from itself.

She looked back and Jack and shrugged heavily, "Nothing…there's nothing left for me here."

Jack's blue eyes looked at her with understanding and sympathy. He was offering her more than a job; he was offering hope…a future.

He held out his hand to her, "Then come with me, Martha."

She thought of a Time Lord in a blue suit standing in an alley, she had gone with him and her world had changed…

And then she knew what she had to do. She reached out and took Jack's hand.

"I hear Cardiff's nice this time of year."

He beamed at her.

And as he bent his head to take her lips in a kiss he muttered softly, "Welcome to the team, Miss Jones."


End file.
